On April 29, 2016, at 2 p.m. EDT the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) will host a webinar to discuss the May 13, 2016, Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) Release 6.26. This webinar is free and registration is now open.

The webinar will focus on the SEVIS updates that support the new science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) optional practical training (OPT) extension.

SEVIS Release 6.26 will enable school officials to recommend the STEM OPT extension for eligible students. However, it will not contain functionality for all new provisions of the rule.

 Specifically, during the webinar, the SEVIS team will explain how to handle transition cases and will highlight SEVIS workarounds for capturing some of the requirements for which system functionality is not yet available. Please note that over the coming months, SEVP will develop the additional functionality needed to fully implement the new regulation in SEVIS.

For more specific information about what will be included in SEVIS Release 6.26, please read the April 6, 2016, SEVP Broadcast Message available on ICE.gov. In preparation for the webinar, please also review the SEVIS Release 6.26 Planning Guide, available on the SEVIS Help Hub.